Parallax View : New Lines of Insight

Profound shifts in the economy are all around us. We just had one of the highest GDP growth periods in history. Hard to understand it? But for so-called developing nations, they understand it well. Wealth distribution.

As Editor-in-Chief of this magazine, I get exposed to many thinkers, writer and executive, who want to engage in dialogue. I also engage in many discussions with thought leaders—in business, politics, universities, etc. The emblem of the sentiment of where we are now is when an organization like Fortune Magazine seems to be cheering on the dissection of the American icon, the corporate executive. We all know about Tyco Dennis’s Two Million Dollar Party. But in truth, the Enron era we are living through has more than dishonesty as the issue. Plain and simply, the CEO is not living up to his charter—growing the company. And since most Americans are employees of the firms they run, if they fail to lead, many people fail to, well, be employed. Wealth distribution.

Parallax View has offered many strategies over the last few months for executives to think about their supply chains in new ways. They can lead the firm to greater markets and higher margins. That is why this months The Interview, is particularly note worthy. We talked with Michael Treacy about his new book, Double-Digit Growth. It is refreshing to see a point of view that takes us beyond the excuses and provides a framework for achieving growth. And share holder value. Read Performance about the new research from Vinod Singhal of George Tech on Supply Chain Glitches and Corporate Profit.

But, we have to face up to some realities here—leaner business models mean just that. Technology, better business processes, etc., do have the desired outcome—ROIC, which means less assets and less people. This month, we also have several articles that discuss these strategies. Technology investments—do they get results? Read APS Implementation Truths. The data says yes.

Supply Chain and service transformations leading to loyal customers and growth—yes. Read in Policy about the Service Supply Chain with comments from Ralph Roberts, Chairman of Comcast and Michael Capellas, CEO of MCI.

Not all strategies are alike. Not all jobs are going to Asia. Read in Process about Ford’s new supplier park.

We have to be on the right side of the game here—leading the transformation. SmallSmartFast technologies are part of what is driving these profound economic changes. So, tune into Enablers. RFID is the big story, especially with the DoD now embracing it.